THE CORONAL DIAGNOSTIC SPECTROMETER FOR THE SOLAR AND HELIOSPHERIC OBSERVATORY

The Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer is designed to probe the solar atm osphere through the detection of spectral emission lines in the extrem e ultraviolet wavelength range 150-800 Angstrom. By observing the inte nsities of selected lines and line profiles, we may derive temperature , density, flow and abundance information for the plasmas in the solar atmosphere. Spatial and temporal resolutions of down to a few arcseco nds and seconds, respectively, allow such studies to be made within th e fine-scale structure of the solar corona. Furthermore, coverage of l arge wavelength bands provides the capability for simultaneously obser ving the properties of plasmas across the wide temperature ranges of t he solar atmosphere.